Ovarian Cancer Surgery

Question: I was recently diagnosed with stage 3 borderline ovarian cancer. I had surgery in Jan 08 to remove it? I would love to hear from someone else who has had the same thing in the past. They say it will probably come back & I am wondering when & where it has come back in other women.

Answer: I work for an OB/GYN Ovarian Cancer Treatment Center in NYC. As I understand it, they can remove diseased area but the chances of it coming back are very high. The timeframe varies from woman to woman ranging from several months to several years. Good luck with everything.

Question: Ovarian cancer causes your intestines to shut down? A friend of mine just had ovarian cancer surgery and they told her the reason why her stomach was bloated is because her intestines weren't working so they cut some out. What does this mean, why would cancer make that happen?

Answer: This is typical of ovarian cancer. Unlike other cancers organ invasion and distant mets are not that likely. This kind of cancer causes little implants that seed and spread over the serosal surfaces and eventually encases the abdominal organs causing them to not work properly.

Question: Ovarian Cancer chances and what descisions to make before surgery? I have the bloated tummy that never goes away, constipation, seen a urlogist because of pain and issues urinating, and had an ultra sound that shows a cyst on the left ovary that after a 2.5 month wait didn't disappear. I also had the ca125 blood test and it showed elevated levels (not high, just elevated). I'm now scheduled to have surgery at the end of the month. What is the chance I have ovarian cancer (I'm 36 and no children yet) and what do I need to consider/decide before the surgery as to what to do if they find cancer? Anybody care to share if they've been through this?

Answer: Without knowing your family history it would be hard to determine what your chances are regarding ovarian cancer. Often times ovarian cancer isn't diagnosed until it is in its advanced stages. Unfortunately, the decision on what type of procedure your doctor will perform will be ultimately decided in the operating room depending on what he/she finds. If you want to have children some day you might want to consider freezing some of your eggs for future use because if you need chemotherapy your chances of having children will be significantly low. You may also want to discuss with your doctor about a complete hysterectomy vs. just removing the left ovary. If you just remove the left ovary you might put yourself at risk for future cancer episodes in the future. Good luck.

Question: Mother diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer and is having surgery on Monday? I am freaking out and need some insight. All I know is that she was just diagnosed yesterday and now surgery is scheduled for Monday. Mom says don't worry but I'm hysterical! She is 54. Why surgery so soon? HELP!

Answer: Breathe deep and long for reducing your anxiety. Pray. There are some things not in your control (eg, healing, recovery). Be with her when she is prepping for the op. No need for any words, just keep breathing long and deep, consciously. Hold her hand, assure her she'll be alright (even if you don't know what's the outcome), pray, and pray some more.... Get plenty sleep yourself over the weekend. God bless.

Question: No sex drive...whats wrong? I have PCOS Endometriosis Ovarian Cancer laproscopic surgery...is it the meds? 22 female. endometriosis, stage one ovarian cancer, pcos, nov. 30th ive had laprascopic surgery for the tumor and cancer and endo. im on lots of meds...would they hurt your sex drive? i feel bad because i want to have sex with my boyfriend, but i just cant get worked up you know...and then it takes forever to reach the big o...whats going on here? do you think its psychological after all the trauma im going through or do you think its the meds??? my boyfriend understands, but i feel bad you know. its been a few months since i was first diagnosed with the pain and what not...anyone else have trauma like this and afraid of the pain? i dont feel the need to perform i just feel old from not being naughty in a few months...

Answer: Many meds can have sexual side effects. Check the side effects of each one of your meds. You can look them up on-line if you don't have the sheet that the pharmacy gave you.

Question: Ovarian Cancer? I have recently had surgery for ovarian cancer and have just started Chemotherapy. Has anyone else been through this? Got any tips for lifting myself out of this depression?

Answer: i am an oncology nurse and i see women like u all the time. Its not an uncommon disease. A lot of the women i treat end up beng friends with each other. We run support groups. try talking to your nurses

Question: Ovarian Cancer Abdominal Pain 3 Months After Surgery...? ...any ideas why my mom would still have bad abdominal pain 3 months after having surgery for ovarian cancer (stage 3). Brief overview is she had a total hysderectomy, part of her intestines removed, lymph nodes, partical colon removed, etc. The pain is always in the same area. She does have a partial bowel blockage, but is this all cancer related (or did they leave something in!) and if so will the chemo help her with the pain later? She just had her second chemo treatment a few days ago (carboplatnim). Thanks!

Answer: Unfortunately, it sounds normal with the blockage and the recent hysterectomy and other surgeries. Best wishes.

Question: My mother was diagonised with ovarian cancer last week and had a surgery yesterday.Her ovaries were removed .? Doctor said 95% of cancer tissues were removed and only 5% remaining. Will the cancer cells again grow or else is she free from cancer?she is 74 years old and very healthy.

Answer: Anu - Your mother will most likely be offered chemotherapy next to try to destroy the remaining ovarian cancer cells. Without chemotherapy, there is an excellent chance the remaining 5% of cancer cells will grow and likely take her life. There is an excellent chance she can be cured now with combined surgery she already had and the chemotherapy likely to follow next. I have known several women with complete cures from such ovarian cancer.

Question: ovarian cancer, Diagnosis and surgery 9 days ago. dr says I am stage 3a or 3b. Anyone been in the situation? i am 53 good general health and trying to keep a good attitude, Dr says prognosis is good but who knows? Im scared and worried chemo will be worse than the surgery which was horiffic, i had tumours around colon and scattered thru the abd, oh btw, i had total hysterectomey ( yes ovaries too) FIVE yrs ago and still got ovarian cancer, Please tell me this is survivable. I need to hear form survivors!!!!!

Answer: I am an ovarian cancer survivor. I was diagnosed in 2005 when I was 54. I had a total hysterectomy and chemo. I joined an ovarian cancer support group before I started chemo and that was one of the best gifts I gave to myself. There were women in the group who were 17-25 year survivors of stage 3 cancer..,.....,which means they were diagnosed and had chemo 17-25 years ago when chemo was not as good as it is today. So YES THIS IS MOST DEFINITELY SURVIVABLE! Please check with your oncologist BEFORE chemo and ask if they have ovarian cancer support groups in your town. I never wanted to hear the "c" word..........I had never had surgery, perfect health, hate pills, so the thought of the "c" word, surgery and chemo....I was horrified. Cried the entire first visit to the cancer center. But, I have to say, I have had the flu that was worse than chemo.........not that I would want it again,.....but, it was not as bad as I thought it would be. I will be happy to answer any questions you have. NO STRESS,. Happy thoughts. This too shall pass.

Question: My mother had ovarian cancer in 2007 , surgery was done , uterus and ovaries were removed,? 6 cycles of chaemotheapy was given , also she is going for regular checkups.Is there any chances of the cancer to develop again, what is the life span of this patients normally,

Answer: it would have helped if u had mentioned the sage of the cancer. overall ur mom's health depends on how well she is taken care of...whethr she completes her treatment or not and of course, on her regular check ups...ovarian cancer can be deadly because it is usually diagnosed late...but if diagnosed early patients living over 5 yrs is well over 92 % ... a rough estimate is as follows: The percentages of women who are alive 5 years after diagnosis and treatment are * Stage I: 70 to 100% * Stage II: 50 to 70% * Stage III: 20 to 50% * Stage IV: 10 to 20% The prognosis is worse when the cancer is more aggressive or when surgery cannot remove all visibly abnormal tissue. Cancer recurs in 70% of women who have had stage III or IV cancer. However u should remember that prognosis still depends on how early she was diagnoses and these are just relative figures... as for recurrence, well yes it might recur. but if it was confined only to ovaries and if both ovaries have been removed, it is only rare that it would occur. i m giving some sites below that might help ; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ovarian_cancer http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec22/ch252/ch252c.html

Question: hi everyone. I am on a wating list for surgery for ovarian cancer and it will be be too long? before I get in. I am just woundering is it normal for OVCA patients to spot a fair bit after they excersice? I went to ride my bike up to get some food voutchers and I rode back and when I went to the toilet I started to bleed after the urine. This happens all the time now everytime I ride my bike and come back to go to the toilet. Is this common for pateints with this type of cancer? even mucas dischage comes out and the blood is pinkish and watery. so please if anyone out there than can help me with this queston that will be great. I phoned to hospital to tekk them what happend again and I am booked in to see them on monday I will ask them there but in the mean time I am anxious and need to know. I do not feel like going to the doctors tonight becasue it is too cold outside and is dark. so please can you help me with this question? If you can thank you very much. meg I am going to sleak to a doctor but not this second. I will be when I get back to the hospital but in the mean time I need some answers. Maggie this is a public hospital, and I cannot afford to go private. but I will nto be wating that much longer anyway. there is so many cancer pateitns on the public waiting list as there is so many cancer patients. Just be gratefull for me that I will be in soon ok? oh by the way Magie my surgen is good. He is always busy. people die on wating lists. that is the pubic system for you, getting worse by the day just ask a lot of cancer pateints and they will tell you. hi everyone catogory 1 I will be seen for thetre witin 1 month. skmw, hey no I am not in the US, I am in Melbourne in Australia. I heard from a doctor 2 days ago a local hospital not far from me is not taking anymore new patinets at the moment. how sad is that? but they have a catorgory they put you in, and catogory 1 you will be seen within one month but still that is way too long for me as I have pain in my right ovary with the bleeding. but I will be pateint and waing these few weeks.

Answer: The main symptoms you see with ovarian cancer are abdominal bloating, urinary frequency or urgency and irregular menses. Other symptoms vary depending on whether the cancer has spread to other organs. Only a doctor can tell you whether your cancer has spread to other organs. You need to be an advocate in your own health care by looking up everything you can on ovarian cancer on the Internet. The source below is a good start. Some of your questions might be answered before you see the doctor next week just by a little research. Good luck.

Question: My mother has Ovarian Cancer, can I still have children? Hello, I am 23 years old, and found out less than a week ago that my 41 year old mother has advanced ovarian cancer. She is having surgery Friday. Among the many questions and concerns I have regarding this situation (this may seem selfish..) I am wondering if my opportunity of having children someday is dramatically reduced. If it is proven that this cancer is genetic, do you think I will get it even younger? Will I miss out on a chance to be a mother myself? Thanks.

Answer: In some cases ovarian cancer does have a hereditery factor. I would be more concerned that this is the case if there were other cases of breast or ovarian cancer (same gene) in her family. Even if it is genetically related, and you inherit the gene and develop ovarian cancer, you have 2 ovaries, so would still have a posibility of having a child after treatment, but you probably have quite a few years yet before you are at risk.

Question: Has there been a increased people survived Ovarian Cancer? I just want to know that has there been lots of women survived Ovarian Cancer when treated and with surgery, lately?

Answer: Survival rates for people with ovarian cancer have remained pretty much the same. As with any cancer, it depends on how early it is diagnosed. If diagnosed early, the 5 year survival rate is 92%. With regional and distant disease, the rates drop to 71% - 30%. However, we have been able to prolong life for those with advanced ovarian cancer. This has drmatically increased over the past 10 years. Hope this answers your question

Question: How to deal with pain from cancer? Mom is 4 months post-op for ovarian cancer surgery, but still has the same pain. Initially oncologist said it was from the tumors, but they are shrinking a lot...but pain level is still the same? She is getting IV dilaudid right now, but when she goes home it will be pills...will the pain be controlled ok this way? Any tips?

Answer: If your Mom is still in the hospital she should have access to the Pain Team of doctors. You should ask them their opinion. If she is not being treated by a Pain Team than there are some websites that you can look at that might be helpful. NCCN: Cancer Pain Treatment Guidelines http://www.nccn.org/patients/patient_gls/_english/_pain/1_introduction.asp Cancer Pain http://www.cancer-pain.org/ MD Anderson Pain Control http://www.mdanderson.org/topics/paincontrol/ NCI: Unstanding Cancer Pain http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/understanding-cancer-pain There is no reason that anyone should suffer with cancer pain. Insist that the doctors solve this problem for your mother. And, finally the National Comprehensive Cancer Network provides a guide for the treatment of Ovarian Cancer. If you havn't read it yet, here is the site: Ovarian Cancer Treatment Guidelines for Patients http://www.nccn.org/patients/patient_gls/_english/_ovarian/contents.asp

Question: IS IT TRUE THAT IN ORDER TO TELL IF IT IS OVARIAN CANCER I NEED SURGERY FIRST? MADE EARLIER POST BUT ALL MY RESERCH INDICATES THE ONLY WAY TO KOW FOR SURE IS A HYSTERECTOMY THAT IS WHY I AM BEING SENT TO ONCOLOGIST.I AM SCARED AND MY BRAIN IS MUSH RIGHT NOW.THERE SHOULD BE A SUPPORT GROUP OR SOMETHING EVEN THOUGH I HAVE YET TO SE ONCOLOGIST THE WAITING IS HORRBLE.HAS ANY ONE HAD PERSONAL EXPIERENCE HOW DID YOU COPE UNTIL YOU GOT ANSWERS

Answer: You don’t need a hysterectomy to know for sure, but you do need surgery. The ovary should be removed intact and sent for frozen to pathology. The doctors stand there in the operating room with the patient on the table until the pathologist tells them what it is. If it’s cancer they proceed with a hysterectomy and check for metastatic disease. If it is not, nothing else needs to be done.

Question: how risky of a surgery is a full hysterectomy for a middle aged woman with ovarian cancer?

Answer: It is far less risky than not having the surgery. That is all that matters.